New in Town
by darkheadlights
Summary: Seventeen-year old Rory has just arrived in Stars Hollow to stay with her Aunt Lorelai for a while. She can't stand the town, but a certain dark-haired individual might make the otherwise torturous stay worthwhile. Rory and Jess roles are reversed: Rory is a rebel and Jess is a good boy. (Backwards) Literati.
1. Arrivals

**A/N: If you have a better suggestion for a title, please, indulge me. "New in Town" was the best I could come up with, since I don't have Amy Sherman-Palladino's brain.**

The bus chugged to a halt. Rory was gazing out the window, trying to decide if she was dreaming or not. How could a place like this actually exist? Everyone looked so…_happy_. Like they were all on drugs. Maybe it was something in the water. People out there were actually _skipping_. She made a mental note not to drink from the faucet as she tramped down the bus steps, dragging a bag with all of her worldly possessions behind her.

"Lorelai?" she asked, staring at the tall, blue-eyed woman who was staring right back.

"Rory?" the woman asked, although she obviously knew who she was. Rory nodded anyhow.

"Wow, we've got a freaky eye-matching situation here," Lorelai said, pointing her fingers at her own eyes and then Rory's.

She shrugged. "I guess." She sniffed. The place even _smelled _flowery. Not a hint of garbage or cigarette smoke. She missed New York already, even with the smell. The smell was part of what made New York what it was: a _city_. This wasn't even a town; it was barely a hamlet. She wondered if they even had a bookstore here.

"So, uh, the inn I run is right around that corner," Lorelai said as they started walking, gesturing to their right. "And here's Doose's, that's the market…and that's the school over there, we'll sign you up right away…and your other assorted town landmarks. Gazebo. Diner. Bookstore," she said, pointing in different directions. Rory breathed a quiet sigh of relief at the word 'bookstore.' "Not too chatty, huh?" Lorelai said, making it so it wasn't really a question, so Rory didn't have to reply. This, of course, just proved Lorelai's point. "Okay…" she said, "I get the point. From now on, you can just nod, or shrug, or shake your head, all right? So, you hungry?" She stopped in front of what she said was the diner, even though there was a hardware sign outside. Rory nodded, and Lorelai led the way inside, looking slightly relieved.

"Hi, Lorelai," a man greeted her as they let the door close behind them. "Coffee? Oh, who's this?" he added, catching sight of Rory and her enormous bag, which she set out of the way near the coat rack.

"This is my niece, Rory," Lorelai explained to the man, whose shirt made Rory think of Paul Bunyan. "Remember, Luke, I said she was coming to stay with me for a while?" The man who was apparently Luke nodded and gestured for them to sit at the counter. Rory narrowed her eyes and gazed around at the other people inside the diner, who were all blatantly gaping at her.

"No cable in this place?" she muttered, and Lorelai unexpectedly giggled.

"The town is _very _curious. You won't be able to keep any secrets here, I'm afraid," she said conspiratorially to Rory, who nodded and peeled off her chestnut-brown pleather jacket and shook out her curly hair. Luke set down two enormous cups of coffee in front of them and looked at her.

"I just figured you might want…since you're related to her, and she can't get enough of the stuff," he explained, tilting his head towards Lorelai. Rory cautiously sniffed the dark brown liquid and almost swooned. There was a little deli on the corner in New York that served the best coffee she'd ever tasted, but this smelled like heaven. She took a sip. It tasted like heaven, too.

"Thanks," she mumbled in Luke's direction. "It's…very good." Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Luke and Lorelai exchange a Look, and wondered if those two were involved. They had to be, right? They lingered awkwardly, sneaking obvious glances at Rory. She got great enjoyment out of suddenly staring right at them, inspiring them to pretend to be looking elsewhere. She almost smiled.

"You should…meet my son," Luke said suddenly. "He's about your age. Goes to a private school in Hartford, but he's around a lot; he helps out here at the diner. You'll like him…" He trailed off when he didn't get much of a response.

A few minutes later, after Rory had drained two cups of Luke's coffee, Lorelai suggested they drag Rory's bag back to the house. Rory just shrugged in reply.

"Wow, you're like Luke 2.0," Lorelai muttered so Luke wouldn't hear. Rory turned down Lorelai's offer to help her carry her bag and hefted it onto her shoulder. "Strongwoman, huh?" the older woman chirped, having lost none of her pep for all of Rory's silence. After a short walk that was nevertheless grueling for the heavy weight of several books on her back, Rory was invited into Lorelai's house.

"Hurry, get inside before Babette or Morey catches sight of you. You'll meet them soon enough, but just now is probably not for the best. We'd be out here for hours, and you probably want to eat or take a nap or something," Lorelai said, and Rory wondered who Babette and Morey could possibly be. They sounded like cartoon characters. "So, here's the Crap Shack," Lorelai continued. She laughed a little. "I named it that when I first moved here. I wanted to name it something good, something majestic, you know, like Jefferson named his place Monticello, but Crap Shack was all I could come up with. Better here than my parents', though," she muttered. To no one's surprise, Rory didn't inquire. "Oh, here, you can put your bag down in your room," Lorelai said hurriedly, noticing that her niece was struggling under the weight of it. She led Rory to a room off the kitchen. It was simple and small, nothing crazy, which Rory appreciated. "Want some water?" Lorelai asked, heading towards the sink.

"Uh, no, no," Rory said, waving her hands. "Do you…have soda, though?" she ventured, thinking that something in a sealed can had to be safe.

"Coke, Sprite, or Dr. Pepper?" Lorelai asked, flinging open the fridge to display a veritable plethora of junk food. Rory's stomach grumbled.

"Um, Coke," she said, then tacked on a grudging "please." Without asking, Lorelai poured the Coke into a glass full of ice and then pulled some Doritos and salsa down from the top of the fridge, which Rory unabashedly dug into immediately. The bus trip had been long and she had neglected to pack any snacks.

"Want a Twinkie?" Lorelai inquired, and Rory grabbed one from the box she was offered. "You can eat!" the older woman added admiringly. Rory just nodded, her mouth full of Dorito. "Well, there's something we have in common. You like movies?" Rory nodded again, adding on a slight shrug to indicate, _well, who doesn't like movies? _without actually having to say it. Lorelai miraculously understood immediately. "Good, I have a pretty decent collection in the living room. Plus the Black, White, and Read bookstore screens classics around once a week." Rory perked up unintentionally. This town had _two _bookstores? Well, that was something. She grabbed another Dorito to hide her sudden burst of enthusiasm. "Hey, listen, kid, I can talk all day. It's what I'm best at," Lorelai said after a moment of silence, punctuated only by their crunching. "But you're gonna be here for a while, at least that's the plan, so wanna tell me a little bit about yourself? I only know what my sister told me."

"Not much to tell," Rory offered, hiding her hands under the table so she could pick at her nails – a nervous habit. "What did she tell you?" She couldn't resist her curiosity.

Lorelai shrugged. "Just that you were running around like Evel Knieval, pulling stunts all over the place and getting into trouble." Rory snorted at the comparison and Lorelai just looked at the younger girl for a moment. "I think you could really like it here," she said more quietly. "Just give it a chance. I know it's gotta be pretty overwhelming right now. This isn't exactly Manhattan." Rory bit her lip and swallowed hard. She missed New York so much. Maybe not her living situation, sure, but she'd barely spent any time in that apartment. There was so much to explore there; you never had to go home, except to sleep. Here, there was…what? Two square miles of nothing, punctuated only by insanity?

Lorelai cleared her throat, breaking Rory out of her reverie. "So, I have to head back to the inn. You can make yourself comfortable. Unpack, take a nap, take a walk, whatever. I'll be back at six, okay?" She waited till Rory gave a slight nod and then left out the backdoor.

_Alone at last_, Rory thought. There were a lot of things about Stars Hollow she was going to have to get used to, and a partially solitary existence was definitely one of them. You could never be alone in New York; there was _always _somebody around. Perils of living in a place that was overpopulated by the thousands. She was surprised to find that she kind of liked it. Picking up her Coke and another Twinkie, she wandered into the room that was now hers and collapsed on the bed.

**A/N: Lorelai's sister/Rory's mom is not Liz. I don't know who it is. She won't factor much into this story, I don't think.**

**So tell me what you think! This kind of story has probably been done before, but I thought I'd try my hand at it. And don't worry – new chapters for Puzzle Pieces and I'd Rather be in Philadelphia are still in the works. **


	2. Strangers

**A/N: Thanks for the supportive reviews so far! I'm really enjoying writing this.**

Rory woke up the next morning with no idea where she was. She knew it wasn't New York before she even opened her eyes because there was no traffic rushing by, no horns honking or people yelling underneath her window. She glanced around blearily, and then it all came back to her. She was in Stars Hollow, some twisted version of Munchkin Land, all in Technicolor. The only difference was that everyone was of normal height. Tugging somewhat nervously on her t-shirt, Rory carefully opened her door and peered out into the kitchen.

"Morning!" Lorelai said cheerfully. A plate with a Pop-Tart on it and a cup of hot coffee were already waiting for her at the empty seat.

"Uh, morning," Rory mumbled back. "What time is it?"

"Seven. Early riser, huh?" Lorelai's eyes followed Rory as she slid into a chair, tucking one leg under her and breaking the Pop-Tart into pieces. "So, I think we should stop by the diner again whenever you're ready. And then we'll walk over to the school and make sure everything's all set for you to start tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Rory asked, rubbing her palms into her eyes.

"Yup. You'll like Stars Hollow High. I think. It's…nice…" Lorelai trailed off, giving Rory a nervous smile.

After a moment, Rory said, "Did you go there?"

Lorelai shook her head, looking relieved that Rory had actually said something. "I went to this private school over in Hartford. It's not what I would have chosen for myself, but my parents…well, they needed me to have all the best." She looked down at her plate and picked at the crumbs there. "But Luke went there!" she said enthusiastically. "And he turned out fine, so."

"Are you and Luke..?" Rory almost asked, looking at her aunt curiously.

"Are me and Luke what?" Lorelai said, but she was blushing slightly.

"Involved?"

Lorelai scoffed. "Uh, no. No, Mr. Mountain Man is a solitary kind of character. A little like the Unabomber, only less violent. Jess drags him to town meetings and stuff sometimes – that's his son – but mostly he just sticks close to the diner." After a thoughtful pause, Lorelai asked, "So, do you have a boyfriend back in New York?"

Rory shook her head. "I keep to myself a lot, too, I guess," she mumbled, taking a gulp of the coffee. "Good _god_, that's strong!" she couldn't help exclaiming, and Lorelai laughed.

"My ratio of grounds to water is a tad bit higher than most people's."

"I'll say," said Rory. "It's like this Turkish coffee I had once back in Manhattan." Her mouth twisted suddenly. She was talking a lot. A lot more than she should.

"Turkish, huh? I've had that before. Like mud, right?" Lorelai replied, but Rory just nodded, feeling uncomfortable. "Well, I'm gonna go shower," the older woman said, jutting her thumb towards the staircase. "You can have next, okay?" Lorelai pushed herself up from the table and tossed a glance back towards her niece. It hadn't occurred to Rory that her aunt might be nervous too.

About forty-five minutes later, the two girls – who looked remarkably similar, so much so that they could easily have passed for mother and daughter, if Lorelai wasn't so young – strolled back towards the center of town.

"You'll probably meet Jess today," Lorelai said.

"What's he like?" asked Rory, shoving her hands deep into the pockets of her jacket and trying to ignore the stares she was still getting from all the townies walking past.

"He's nice. Kind of like Luke, but calmer. He reads a lot. Very smart kid." Rory nodded. This guy sounded boring. And he went to private school. _How snobby_. She wondered if he had to wear a uniform. Her question was answered a few moments later when they entered the diner and Lorelai pointed Jess out to her. He was indeed wearing a uniform – light grey and blue, with a tie and a blazer and everything. It even had the school crest on the breast pocket. He had neatly-groomed dark hair and eyelashes Rory was immediately jealous of. She had to load on a lot of mascara to get the same effect. He glanced up from his book when the bell above the door rang and watched Rory curiously.

Luke popped out of the kitchen and waved to them, gesturing to an empty table. "Jess, will you wash that off?" he asked, and the boy stood up and wiped a rag across the surface.

"Um, hi, I'm Jess," he said shyly, extending the hand that wasn't holding the dishrag to Rory.

She shook it firmly. "Rory. I'm, uh, Lorelai's niece."

Jess nodded. "I know, my dad told me you were coming." He lingered for a moment, looking like he wanted to say something else, and Rory glanced around to avoid his intense gaze.

"Um, what are you reading?" she asked, just for something to say.

"_The Stranger_, by Camus. Have you ever read it?"

Rory's eyes widened. "Yeah, it's one of my favorites. Have you read anything else by him?"

Jess shook his head, smiling. "It's my first. What should I read next? Or shouldn't I trust your opinion?" He tilted his head towards Lorelai, who smiled.

"Well, don't I look trustworthy?" Rory asked, smiling a bit herself. "Next you should read _The Plague_. I can loan it to you sometime, if you want."

Jess nodded and walked back to the counter and grabbed his backpack. "I gotta go to school, Dad. Bus'll be here any minute." Luke reached out and ruffled his son's hair. Jess winced and hastily smoothed it back down again, making Lorelai and Rory giggle. "Bye," he called to them, waving at Rory.

Luke walked over to them after a moment with a fresh pot of coffee in his hand. "Jess seems to like you," he said to Rory happily. She just nodded, feeling awkward. She wasn't used to starting conversations like that with people right off the bat. Usually she just avoided everyone. "Hey, I've got an idea," Luke continued, filling Lorelai's mug. "Why don't you two come to the apartment for dinner tonight? I'll cook and Rory and Jess can get to know each other a little better."

"Sounds great! Okay by you, Rory?" Lorelai said. Rory just shrugged. "That's 'okay' in Roryspeak," Lorelai stage-whispered to Luke. "Will you make burgers?" she asked hopefully.

"Nah, why don't I do something a little nicer? You can have a burger here anytime," Luke said, leaning against their table and smiling down at Lorelai. _Definitely something going on there_, Rory observed silently.

"Not in the _morning_," Lorelai protested. "When I tried to get a burger for breakfast last week, you said no!" Luke rolled his eyes. "You let me have chicken soup for breakfast once," Lorelai continued stubbornly.

"You were sick," Luke pointed out. "I made an exception. A _rare _exception," he emphasized. "Now, can I get you some normal breakfast food? Eggs, pancakes?" He looked at Rory expectantly.

"Um, just a muffin," Rory said quietly. She was starving, but she didn't want to seem piggy. The less the town had to say about her, the better. Lorelai raised an eyebrow at her but didn't comment.

"I'll have scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese, bacon and sausage, plus a pancake. And a Danish," she said.

"It's not Danish day," Luke said.

"Please?" Lorelai wheedled, drawing out the word and pouting.

"I might have one in the back," Luke admitted, relenting immediately. A few minutes later, a cherry Danish with stripes of delicious-looking frosting appeared in front of Lorelai.

"Thank you!" she chirped, ripping into it immediately. "Nothing goes better with Luke's coffee than cherry Danish. Want some?" she asked Rory, who nodded and placed a bite of pastry in her mouth. She had to catch herself before she gasped. It was amazing, and now she was hungrier than ever. She stared sadly at the little bran muffin in front of her. "You want some of mine?" Lorelai offered when Luke brought out her enormous plate.

"Well…if you don't mind…" Rory said hesitantly, but already reaching her fork out towards the sausage.

"What's a little shared breakfast between family?" Lorelai smiled.


	3. Thank You For Not Smoking

After Lorelai confirmed that Rory was all set to start school the next day, she went to work, leaving Rory to her own devices until seven o'clock, when they were supposed to go over to Luke and Jess' for dinner. Rory stopped at the house first, taking the key out of the turtle, where Lorelai said it would be, and grabbing a book and her secret pack of cigarettes out of the bottom of her bag. Somehow, she had a feeling that smoking was generally frowned upon in this place. She hadn't seen a single cigarette butt on the sidewalk or crushed into anyone's lawn.

Rory walked off into the woods across from the high school, curious about what she might find there. _Probably a whole lot of nothing_, she thought sullenly. Everyone here was too goddamned _nice_. She wasn't used to so much politeness – all the smiles (at least from Luke, Jess, and Lorelai; most of the rest of the town still seemed suspicious) and the shared breakfast. The postman had asked her how she was as he walked by, and some guy who said his name was Kirk tried to sell her a subscription to _People _magazine, but didn't seem at all put out when she declined.

After walking for a few moments, the air started to smell earthy, and suddenly, a large lake appeared in front of Rory. "Wow," she murmured. The only lakes she knew were in Central Park, and those were all manmade. She walked to the middle of the wooden bridge and sat down, watching a swan sail peacefully across the water. She still couldn't believe her mom had sent her here. It would definitely be a lot harder to get into trouble in Stars Hollow, that was for sure. All the kids her age were probably just like Jess: a bunch of goody two-shoes. He did seem kinda different, though, she mused to herself as she lit a cigarette and pulled her book from her pocket. At least he read.

"Excuse me, young lady!" a loud voice huffed from the other side of the bridge. Rory glanced up to see a fussy-looking older man with a grayish-white beard glaring at her. She thought she remembered seeing him in the diner earlier. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Well," Rory said, glancing down at herself, "I _think _I'm reading and smoking."

"Don't you be smart with me!" the man said, wagging a finger at her. "Smoking is not allowed within the boundaries of Stars Hollow, per ordinance number 1992-1026, bylaw 204! It's right in the handbook!"

"I don't have a handbook, sorry," Rory shrugged, taking another drag from her cigarette, which only served to make the man angrier. "Who are you?" she asked.

"Taylor Doose, town selectman, head of multiple committees, and proprietor of Doose's Market," Taylor said, swelling with obvious pride. Rory stared at him blankly. "Who are _you_?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her. "I saw you in the diner before with Lorelai Gilmore."

"I'm her niece," Rory replied, sticking out a hand. "Rory." Taylor glanced at her but didn't shake her hand, and she slowly lowered it. So much for politeness.

"You look like her," Taylor observed, frowning as his gaze moved from her messy hair to her pleather jacket and back up to her heavy eye makeup. "I noticed you were talking to Jess Danes as well. I hope he's a good influence on you. Put that out!" he scolded, before Rory could raise her cigarette to her lips again. She flicked it into the lake, just to watch the color rise in Taylor's face. "_Well_!" he huffed, turning and stomping away. Rory smiled and turned back to her book.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Several hours later, during which Rory had circled the town twice and poked around in every store – most of which seemed oddly focused on peddling porcelain unicorn statues – she meandered into Luke's.

"Hey, you're here!" Lorelai said with relief, turning at the sound of the door opening. She glanced at her watch. "I thought we said seven."

Rory shrugged. "Didn't have a watch." Lorelai frowned at her, but seemed to think better of starting a fight about punctuality.

"Well, Luke and Jess are upstairs," she said. "Luke wasn't sure what you would like, so he made roast, mashed potatoes, and grilled cheese, in case you didn't eat meat."

"I eat meat," Rory assured her, following her up the stairs she hadn't noticed that morning. "Remember? The sausage?"

"Oh, right," Lorelai said, holding the door to the apartment open for her. It was small, but surprisingly neat, considering that two men lived there. The air smelled delicious and Rory inhaled deeply. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a dinner that didn't come out of a carton or a plastic container. "Thank god someone in this town can cook, right?" Lorelai said, nudging Rory gently with her elbow. "'Cause I sure can't."

"There's blueberry pie and ice cream for dessert," Jess offered, walking out from behind the refrigerator. He had changed out of his school clothes and was wearing jeans and a neatly-pressed polo shirt. Rory squinted at him. If you messed up his hair a little…substituted a motorcycle jacket for the preppy shirt…he would almost be sexy. She took the seat he offered her and started picking at her fingers underneath the table. "Soda?" Jess asked, holding up a bottle of Coke.

Rory nodded and he poured her a glass. "Thank you," she mumbled, pulling her hand away fast when she accidentally brushed his fingers. She didn't like to be touched unexpectedly and generally, she didn't like touching people, unless it annoyed them, like trying to shake Taylor Doose's hand earlier. As if reading her mind, Luke suddenly turned to her.

"So I hear you met Taylor earlier today," he said conversationally. Lorelai raised her eyebrows and Jess sat down next to Rory, listening intently. Luke set down the pan of roast beef and took a seat himself. "He told me to keep you in line." Rory didn't reply. "She was smoking on the bridge," Luke stage-whispered to Lorelai and Jess.

"Snitch," Rory muttered, stabbing her roast with her fork.

"You smoke?" Lorelai asked, looking as concerned as if Luke had just announced that Rory was shooting up on the bridge. She shrugged and gave a half-nod. "That's really bad for you," her aunt pointed out unnecessarily. Getting no response, Lorelai looked away and dug into her meal.

"I need some air," Rory mumbled suddenly, shoving her chair back from the table.

"I hope you're not going to smoke!" Lorelai called after her. Rory burst through the diner door and stomped over to the gazebo. Who was Luke to say he was going to keep her in _line_? And what right did Lorelai have to tell her not to smoke? She would do whatever the hell she wanted. She wasn't a little kid. Rory fumed, taking a seat on the bench inside the gazebo. She was so angry at her mom for sending her here. This town was a joke.

"Are you okay?" a voice asked quietly. Rory looked up to see Jess.

"Fine," she muttered. She flinched when he sat down next to her, but he didn't say anything. "I just hate being judged," she said after a moment of silence.

"Lorelai and my dad weren't judging you," Jess said. "Maybe Taylor was, but he judges everybody."

"Well, it felt like they were judging me," Rory said petulantly, scuffing her toe against the floorboards.

"Sorry."

"What are you sorry for?"

He shrugged. "Did you think I was judging you?"

"No," Rory said softly, looking at Jess. "In fact, you're probably the most normal person I've met here so far." Jess' lips quirked up into a smile.

"I hope that's a compliment," he said.

Rory nodded. "It is." A few more minutes passed in companionable silence.

"Let's go back inside," Jess offered, making it sound more like a request than a demand. "Because if nothing else, that blueberry pie is really, really good. And I know you must be hungry."

Rory sighed. "Okay, fine." Jess smiled and pulled her off the bench, leading her back to the diner.

**A/N: If you had trouble picturing Jess with neat hair and wearing a polo shirt, you're not alone. I can't even really picture it. But the photo that goes with the story is how I imagine Rory looks, only a bit younger – she is only seventeen in this story and Alexis is maybe in her mid-twenties in that photo. That girl's gonna look young for the rest of her life, though. I'm jealous. I always say that if I didn't love Alexis so much, I would hate her.**


	4. Rory's First Day

**A/N: I hope it comes through that I'm ****_not_**** trying to replicate season two exactly, with a female Jess and a male Rory. There are certain scenes with Real Jess (as I will heretofore refer to the original Jess character) that I like so much that I want to include them in my story. And certain quotes that I just had to include. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Amy! **

**I DO NOT OWN GILMORE GIRLS. In case that wasn't obvious.**

"Wow, Ru Paul doesn't have this much makeup," Lorelai commented when she walked into the bathroom the next morning. Rory was standing in front of the mirror, carefully applying eyeliner. A variety of bottles and tubes was scattered on the counter before her, rivaling Lorelai's own extensive collection. She glanced at Lorelai in the mirror but didn't say anything. "Is that what you're wearing?" the older woman asked, nodding to Rory's outfit, which consisted of a tight plaid miniskirt, black ripped tights, a black cami, and her customary pleather jacket. Rory just raised her eyebrows in reply, as if to say the quintessential teen favorite vocabulary word: _duh_. "Right, duh," Lorelai said, being fluent in Teenager. In many ways, she still felt like a teenager. She had the same taste in food as a teenager, at least.

"I'm going," Rory announced suddenly, putting down the mascara and waltzing out the bathroom door.

"Bye!" Lorelai yelled. "Have a good…first…day." She faltered as the door slammed shut before she could even finish saying 'good.'

Rory grabbed her book – a well-worn copy of _The Idiot _by Dostoevsky – and started off for the school. It was her first day; they could hardly expect her to know anything or to take notes, right? As she approached Stars Hollow High, she glanced down the street to the bus station. Jess was sitting on the back of the bench, resting his feet on the seat, his nose buried deep in something by Foucault – she could barely make out the title with her eyes squinted. Her gaze lingered on him, enjoying the opportunity to observe unnoticed. Suddenly he shifted his weight and Rory shook herself and walked inside the school. Her first class was English with Mrs. Cusick. She heaved a deep sigh, imagining the mundanity of a class where, most likely, nobody even knew who Mark Twain was, let alone Foucault. The _teacher _probably didn't know Foucault.

"Miss Gilmore?" a woman who must have been Mrs. Cusick inquired as Rory entered the classroom. She gave a curt nod and headed for a seat in the back of the classroom. "Ahem. Miss Gilmore, we do have a dress code at this school. I'll let it slide for today, since it's your first day, but in the future, please choose a more appropriate outfit. Like your classmate, Miss Kim's." Mrs. Cusick gestured to a Korean girl sitting in the seat in front of the one Rory was going for. They stared at each other for a second; the girl giving her a tentative smile. Rory looked 'Miss Kim's' outfit up and down – at least as much of it as she could see behind the desk. Loose jeans, beat-up sneakers, and a tie-dyed t-shirt that said "Praise God" in large block letters made up her ensemble. Black-framed glasses completed the Good Christian Girl look. Rory snorted and slumped into the chair behind her.

Rory tried valiantly to zone out during the hour and a half she was forced to sit in this classroom, but Mrs. Cusick kept coming over to her desk and staring at her until she sat up straight. "I do expect you to take notes, Miss Gilmore," she said sternly. "Where is your notebook and pen?" Rory shrugged and Mrs. Cusick sighed. "Another future star," she muttered under her breath. Rory rolled her eyes and poked 'Miss Kim' between the shoulder blades.

"Hey," she whispered. "Can I borrow a pen? And some paper?" Maybe she could get the teacher off her back if she just _looked _like she was paying attention to their mundane discussion about _Of Mice and Men_, which Rory had read when she was ten. The girl ripped out some paper and handed Rory her extra pen.

"I'm Lane, by the way," she whispered, giving that tentative smile again.

"As in 'walk down a'?" Rory said sarcastically.

"Uh, yes," Lane replied. "I really like your skirt, by the way. Very Blondie."

"Thanks," Rory whispered back, startled that someone with such poor style could appreciate her punky skirt.

"Miss Gilmore? Miss Kim? Pay attention, please," Mrs. Cusick called from the front of the room, and Rory leaned back in her seat. This town was just full of surprises.

The rest of the school day passed in much the same way – teachers berating Rory for her outfit, her attitude, her refusal to participate, or anything else they could come up with, and students staring at her like she was an alien. The Lane girl ended up in her last class of the day, too. Rory stared at her for a moment – her version of "hello" – and slipped into the chair next to her.

"Do you like the Smiths?" Lane inquired while other students were still finding their way to their seats.

"Uh, yeah," Rory said.

"The Strokes?"

"They're okay."

"The Vandals?"

"Love them."

"How about the Shaggs?"

Rory frowned at this one. "I've never heard of them."

Lane gasped. "I'll burn you a CD. Well…loan you one. I don't have a CD burner. My mom doesn't allow them. Technically she doesn't allow CDs either, but, well, you know…" Lane trailed off, looking embarrassed. Rory frowned at her. This girl was weird. She was wearing a shirt that claimed she was uber-religious, but she didn't _act _like she was. _Interesting_, Rory mused.

When the clock finally hit 3:00, Rory trudged out the front doors, feeling drained. And she hadn't even _tried_. All the lectures she'd gotten from the teachers had just taken it out of her. She glanced across the street at Luke's and wondered if his coffee was that good all the time.

"Look out!" somebody yelled and she glanced over just in time to catch the basketball flying directly at her head. "Wow, good catch," said the boy who had thrown it. "I'm Dean!" he announced, sticking out his hand and grinning. Rory just stared up at him, still shaken from her near-death experience. She was lucky the older boys in the neighborhood had taken her under their wing when she was young and taught her how to play basketball, stickball, and soccer, among other things.

"Rory," she said finally when Dean started looking at her weird.

"Right, right, you were in my bio class," he said, his head bobbing like he was listening to a song.

"Here," Rory muttered, shoving the basketball at him and walking towards Luke's.

"See you tomorrow!" Dean called, none of his enthusiasm lost for all her lack of it. The bell dinged as Rory shuffled into the diner and took a seat at the counter.

"Hi, Rory," Luke greeted her, coming out of the kitchen. Rory just looked at him. "Okay, when your aunt does that, I give her an extra-large cup of coffee." He raised his eyebrows at her and she nodded gratefully. At least _someone _around here seemed to get it – sort of. Maybe he was just going to give her the coffee and then report back to Taylor that she was not only a nicotine addict, but a caffeine addict too. Nonetheless, the steaming dark liquid in front of her smelled too divine for her to care.

"This is exactly what I needed," she mumbled. Luke just nodded and walked away to take somebody else's order. She could see herself hanging out here a lot. If only the townies would stop _staring _all the time. She wanted to turn around and tell them all to mind their own business, but that could get her thrown out of the diner, and she really needed to finish that coffee. Rory looked at the two women at the other end of the counter out of the corner of her eye as she took another sip. They were both looking at her and whispering from time to time. After a moment of discussion, they seemed to come to an agreement, and the shorter one hopped off her stool and came over to Rory's side.

"Well, hiya, doll!" she said hoarsely. Rory wondered if she'd lost her voice recently. "We just wanted to introduce ourselves!" Rory looked to her right and the other woman was suddenly standing next to her too. She glanced over at Luke and he just shrugged and rolled his eyes. _Big load of help you are_, she thought, and forced a small smile onto her face.

"Um, hi," she said. "I'm Rory."

"We know!" said the taller of the two ladies, flinging her scarf over her shoulder. "I'm Miss Patty. I teach dance over at the studio across the way." She swelled proudly and Rory was reminded of Taylor. Everyone in this town seemed extremely self-satisfied.

"And I'm Babette, sugah!" said the blonde one. "I don't do much but take care of my kids, but my husband, Morey, he's a piano player!" She said piano like pian-_uh_.

"Kids, huh?" Rory said, just because she wasn't sure what else to say, and it didn't look like they were planning on moving away anytime soon.

"Yeah! Wanna see pictures?" Rory opened her mouth to say _no_ but Babette was already pulling out her wallet. "This here's Apricot. We just got him a few months ago," she told Rory, smiling down at the photo of what was clearly a small cat, not a child.

"Oh! Um, that's nice," Rory said lamely.

"Oh, and here's an old one of Cinnamon…" Babette continued sadly, flipping to a photo of an extraordinarily fat cat. "She passed away."

"I'm…sorry." Rory took a large sip of her coffee to avoid having to say anything further or twist some semblance of a sympathetic look onto her face. Babette snuffled loudly.

"Hey, ladies, what's the gossip today?" a voice called from behind them. Rory recognized Lorelai's timbre immediately. "Oh, I see you've met my niece." She hopped up on the stool beside Rory, smiling at Luke when he automatically filled a cup of coffee for her too.

"She's the gossip!" Miss Patty laughed. "This tired old town needs a little youth, don't you think?"

"Babette, what's wrong?" Lorelai asked, noticing the woman's distraught expression.

"Oh, it's nothin'," Babette said, wiping at her eyes. "Just thinkin' about our dear Cinnamon." Rory watched Lorelai to see whether her expression would betray the silliness of being this emotional over a cat, but her aunt looked perfectly sympathetic and understanding. _Crazy town_, Rory thought.

**A/N: Only eight reviews so far...please, if you're reading, just write a quick note to let me know what you think! I welcome comments of any kind (as long as you're not, like, really rude).**


	5. Crushed

**A/N: Sorry it's taken me a while to get the next chapter up. I've been entrenched in the very stressful process of moving, and I don't even have internet at my new apartment yet. Hopefully this chapter will be worth the wait. For reference, I am kinda sorta a little bit following canon, but there will be several deviations and/or missing details because this is obviously AU.**

"What's wrong with you?" Rory asked bluntly as she walked into the living room. She dumped her new messenger bag – a reluctantly-accepted gift from Lorelai – on the coffee table and slumped into the couch next to her aunt, who was holding the phone and looking conflicted. She sighed.

"Want to hear a long story in a really short amount of time because I don't feel like hashing over every detail?" she said in one breath. Rory just waited. "Okay. So, when I was about your age, I was dating this guy. Christopher. I thought we were gonna be together forever, but then we had a pregnancy scare, and he kind of freaked and stopped talking to me. _So _high school, right?" Lorelai shook her head. "Anyway, after I broke up with my last boyfriend – he actually teaches at the school Jess goes to, which is kinda awkward – Chris waltzed his way back into my life."

Rory, silent but listening intently so far, put one finger up and went to grab sodas from the fridge. She handed one to Lorelai and gestured for her to continue.

"Thanks, hon." Rory flinched at the term of endearment, but Lorelai was staring into space and didn't notice. "He showed up here and things were going really well, so I thought maybe we could finish what we started in high school." She shook her head again. "Wrong again, Lorelai Gilmore. He left before you got here and just now decided to call." She cleared her throat and tucked her hair behind her ears. "Not only does he have a girlfriend, but she's pregnant." She looked at Rory like she was supposed to gasp or something, but the younger girl just raised her eyebrows.

"Uh, wow," she said, which seemed to satisfy Lorelai.

"I know, right? _Huge _bomb. Atomic bomb. So, that's over, I guess…" she sighed. Rory shrugged. She didn't know what to say. Girl talk wasn't really one of her specialties. Lorelai didn't seem to mind much, though. She took a long swig of her Coke and smiled at Rory. "So, enough about me," she said. "How was school? Any gossip? Cute boys?"

"Um…" Rory hedged. Truthfully, so far, all of the boys at Stars Hollow High seemed like complete dumbasses. Maybe one or two were moderately attractive, but without the brains to go with the looks, they were utterly useless to her. A certain diner owner's son flashed across her mind, but she quickly pushed the thought aside and decided to turn the conversation back on Lorelai. "What do you really think of Luke?" she asked.

"Uh, he's a tad bit old for you, don't you think?"

"Ha. I'm not Anna Nicole Smith, thank you very much. Not for me. For you."

Lorelai laughed incredulously. "What? _Luke_? Diner man Luke, Luke with the baseball cap and the flannel? Noooo. No!" she scoffed.

"You love him, don't you?" Rory asked after a thoughtful pause.

"Rory, you are out of your mind," Lorelai told her, standing up to deposit her empty can in the kitchen.

"You didn't answer the question!" Rory pointed out.

"_You _didn't answer _my _question first, missy!" her aunt said, pointing an accusing finger at her niece.

"What question?"

"Cute boys! In Stars Hollow! You very skillfully avoided answering."

"No," Rory said simply, but a faint flush in her cheeks betrayed her.

"Ha!" Lorelai shouted, making Rory jump. "Sorry. But you _do _like someone! Who? Who? Who?" She started bouncing up and down on the sofa, making Rory wonder whether her aunt was thirty-three or just three. "Let me live vicariously through you, pleeeeeease?" she wheedled. "My love life is DOA right now. Just like on _Friends_." She clapped her hands four times in quick succession to prove her point. Rory was silent, but suddenly, Lorelai gasped. "It's _Jess_, isn't it?!"

"What?!" Rory exclaimed, her eyes darting around the room, looking for a place to hide. Maybe up the chimney.

"I don't know, I was thinking about _Friends _and Jennifer Aniston and how Jennifer and Jessica are two really overused names and then I thought just _Jess_ and here we are." She took a deep breath while Rory's mind boggled. "You _like _him, don't you?" Lorelai continued, giving Rory a sly smile.

"He's – nice," she said hesitantly. She was probably skinny enough to fit inside the chimney, but her upper arm strength was a little lacking. She wouldn't be able to haul herself up.

"Yes, he is," Lorelai agreed. "Very nice. But – " She paused, looking conflicted.

"What?"

"Is he really your _type_? I mean, I kind of picture you more with a John Bender than a Brian Johnson."

Rory shrugged and plucked at her Nine Inch Nails t-shirt. "I like nice guys," she said quietly, adopting a faraway look, and Lorelai backed off, aware that her niece was thinking of something serious now.

"I'm gonna order Chinese from Al's," she said gently. "Anything in particular you'd like?"

Rory frowned. "Al's? Usually Chinese restaurants have names like Hong Kong Pearl or China Moon or Number One Chinese Restaurant. Which is silly; they can't _all _be number one."

"I agree. But Al's isn't strictly Chinese food. Why don't you come with me? We'll take a walk and pick up the food instead of ordering delivery." Rory agreed, eager to distract herself from where her mind had been wandering. She shouldn't think about that now.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Al's Pancake World?" Rory stared up at the sign.

"Yup!" Lorelai held the door open for her niece, who looked utterly flummoxed. "Hey Al, got our order ready? This is my niece, by the way," Lorelai said, reaching out as if to wrap an arm around Rory, but thinking better of it at the last second. The younger girl's general aversion to being touched wasn't lost on her.

"So…there are no pancakes here," Rory guessed, looking around at the small takeaway restaurant.

"Nope. Al's started out as a pancake house, sure, but he soon discovered that he could not make pancakes. Slight snag. So now he makes Chinese food and occasionally plays with the boundaries of normal culinary conduct." Lorelai grabbed the proffered bag of takeout and led the way back to the town square. "Ooh, look! Loverboy!" she whispered. Rory followed her gaze to see one Jess Danes, who was sweeping the sidewalk in front of the diner. "You should go say hi!" Lorelai urged. "Go on! I don't think he bites." The younger girl's eyes narrowed. What was the harm, really?

"Uh, hi," she mumbled, coming to a stop just behind Jess. He looked over his shoulder.

"Hey!" He smiled, leaning against the broom. "What's up?"

"Just sampling some of Stars Hollow's finest culinary offerings," she smirked, although butterflies seemed to have sprouted somewhere in the vicinity of her stomach.

"Al's, huh?" Jess said, catching sight of Lorelai with the bag of takeout. She was pretending to be fascinated with a tree next to the gazebo. Rory shook her head slightly. Her aunt had plenty of enthusiasm but not nearly enough subtlety. "Be careful on mystery bag night," Jess continued. "Especially if you get Portuguese."

"Thanks for the warning," Rory said. "So, um, see you later." She hurried towards Lorelai.

"Tomorrow morning?"

"What?" Rory stopped and turned to look at him.

"Well, Lorelai's in here most every morning before work, so I figured…"

"Oh! Yeah. Yeah, tomorrow morning." She gave an awkward little wave. Could she _be _any less cool? Jess just waved back and resumed sweeping.

"How'd it go? When's the wedding?" Lorelai asked eagerly as soon as Rory rejoined her.

"Shh!" Rory's eyes widened and she glanced back to see if Jess had heard. Lorelai just laughed.


	6. I Scream, You Scream

"Your mom called," Lorelai said bluntly as Rory came back into the house after sneaking away for a cigarette. Her aunt's lips tightened when she caught a whiff of the smoke on Rory's clothing, but she didn't say anything about it.

"Huh," Rory uttered, removing her jacket and flinging it over the banister. She wandered into the kitchen to see if they had anything to eat. Pulling out a Chinese takeout box, she grabbed chopsticks and started munching on Kung pao chicken.

"You don't want to know what she said?" Lorelai asked, folding her hands on the kitchen table and watching Rory eat.

"Nope."

"Seriously. You don't care at all," Lorelai pressed.

"Nope," Rory repeated, sticking the chicken back in the fridge and wiping her hands. "You said you don't have the best relationship with your parents, right? Well, me neither." Rory snorted. "Obviously; otherwise I wouldn't be _here_." Annoyance prickled at the edges of her brain. Her mom had shipped her off to Stars Hollow three weeks ago and just _now_ she was bothering to check if she'd even gotten there? Rory grabbed her jacket and prepared to leave the house again.

"Hold up, missy," Lorelai said lightly, but Rory knew she was faking it. "I know we're not exactly _The View_, but I thought we were at least girlfriends. Kind of. Just let me give you the number your mom said and you can go, okay?"

Rory paused in front of the door, adjusting the collar on her jacket. "Okay," she said gruffly. Easier to just give in and let Lorelai have this teeny tiny victory than to fight it. The older woman silently handed her a Post-it note with a New York area code, which Rory stuffed into her pocket. "Later," she said.

She huffed out a frustrated sigh as she hopped off the front porch. There was never any place to _go _here. How did any of them stand it? She headed in the direction of the town square, figuring that was better than going back into that house and enduring Lorelai's holier-than-thou attitude about family. Her mother had another think coming if she believed that Rory was going to just call her up like everything was fine and dandy.

Rory stared down at her feet as she walked, thinking about Eli, the only one of her mother's boyfriends she had ever liked – including her own father. She bit her lip and felt her heart harden just a little more.

"Whoa!"

Her gaze still trained on the ground, Rory felt herself collide with a warm body. "Watch where you're going!" she snapped, then looked up to see Jess. "Oh." Her glance flickered to the girl standing next to him. Holding his hand. Looking at Rory like she was an alien from the fourth dimension.

"Uh, sorry, Rory," Jess apologized, even though _she_ had clearly run into _him_, not the other way around. She shrugged and stared pointedly at the girl, who was wearing a coordinating uniform, similar to Jess'. "Oh! This is my girlfriend, Francie," Jess explained. "That's Lorelai's niece," he said to Francie, who nodded and smiled at him, but when she looked back at Rory, the smile failed to reach her eyes.

"Hello," she said cordially. She had short red hair and brilliantly blue eyes and the longest legs Rory had ever seen on a seventeen-year old, outside of _Vogue_, at least. An awkward silence hung over them.

"Well, Francie and I were just going to get some ice cream," Jess said brightly, trying to defuse the uncomfortable atmosphere. "Wanna come?" Francie shot him a dark look but Jess trained his eyes on Rory alone, waiting for her answer.

"Oh, I – I just ate," she said lamely.

"Which means it's the perfect time for ice cream!" Jess said, all too cheerful. "Come on." He tugged Francie behind him and led both of them towards the ice cream shop, a good three blocks away. Unsure of how to leave without seeming like a total bitch and, besides, wanting to hang out with the only sane person she'd encountered thus far in Stars Hollow, Rory trailed along beside the couple.

"Jess," Francie said in a very low voice – not so low that Rory couldn't hear her, though. "What are we doing?"

"We're going for ice cream," Jess whispered back.

Francie rolled her eyes. "I know. But with _her_?" She didn't turn to look at her, but Rory could feel the tension rolling off Francie's body in waves. "I thought you were taking me on a date!"

"She's new in town. Let's be nice," Jess said softly, glancing over to smile at Rory, who just looked at him. How had she not known he had a girlfriend? Sure, they weren't BFFs, and none of the conversations they'd had were really all that long – or personal – but she felt indignant that she hadn't known anyway. "What flavor do you want?" Jess asked Rory once they'd finally reached the ice cream shop.

"Um." Rory gazed into the glass container. "Rocky Road."

"Two scoops of Rocky Road in cones," Jess said to the girl behind the counter, who Rory was pretty sure was in her history class. "And one low-fat scoop of vanilla in a cup," he added, eliciting a thus-far rare smile from Francie.

"You remembered," she cooed, kissing Jess on the cheek. Rory almost retched. And how hard was it to remember low-fat vanilla? So boring. No gummi bears or anything.

"Can I have gummi bears on mine?" Rory inquired. That sounded good. "And rainbow sprinkles." The girl nodded and handed her the treat-laden cone, giving a slightly plainer one to Jess.

"And here's your vanilla," she said, giving a Styrofoam cup to Francie, who was looking at Rory like she was insane for wanting candy on her ice cream.

"I'll get those," Jess said before Rory could pull out her wallet.

"Oh, no, you don't have to – "

"Too late!" Jess said, taking his change. Before Rory could make a quick exit, he tugged her to a table and pulled out a chair.

"That stuff'll kill you, you know," Francie said haughtily to Jess and Rory.

"You sound like my dad," Jess said, amused. "But aren't there a ton of chemicals in low-fat ice cream? How do they make it low-fat?" Francie swatted him on the arm and scooped up the tiniest bite she could manage.

Rory's eyeballs ached from resisting rolling them. "Actually," she said, taking a huge lick of her cone, "I read that they use this protein cloned from fish blood to make low-fat ice cream now." Francie made a face and looked doubtfully at her tiny serving of fish blood ice cream. Jess just laughed. "It's true," Rory said. "But regular ice cream, you know, if it's good, they just use cream and sugar. The gummi bears and the sprinkles, that's pure sugar. And gelatin, in the case of the gummi bears." She took another bite out of her cone.

"What, like Jell-O?" Francie asked hesitantly, unable to resist her curiosity.

Rory nodded. "Yeah, that's what they use to make Jell-O. It's ground-up horse's hooves, though." She happily bit into the edge of her cone as a nauseated expression crossed Francie's face.

"I think I'm done now," she muttered, getting up to toss her cup in the trash. "Let's go, Jess," she called.

"Okay." Jess stood up, popping the end of his cone in his mouth. "That's always the best part," he said. "See you later, Rory."

"See ya," Rory replied, focusing her attention fully on the remainder of her cone. She wiped the stickiness off her fingers and walked onto the street just as Lane and a severe-looking woman Rory assumed was her mother entered.

"You have soy ice cream?" the older woman demanded of the girl behind the counter.

"Uh…no…" the girl said. Rory half-smiled at Lane, who gave the tiniest wave back, and reluctantly headed back to Lorelai's house. She wanted to stay out, but her mind boggled at how much _nothing _there was to do in this town. It was getting dark, anyhow, and although Rory had a book in her pocket, sitting on the sidewalk underneath a streetlight to read sounded remarkably unappealing. She entered the house quietly, hoping to slip into her room unnoticed, but it sounded like Lorelai had company.

"Isn't it great?" a woman asked. "It's such a beautiful property!"

"I know!" a voice Rory recognized as Lorelai's gushed back. "It's perfect for us!" Rory rounded the corner and walked into the kitchen to see a stranger standing in the kitchen, holding both of Lorelai's hands and looking almost maniacally happy. The expression was matched on Lorelai's face.

"Oh, Rory!" Lorelai sang out, their earlier disagreement apparently forgotten. "You're home! Sookie, this is my niece, Rory. Rory, Sookie, my best friend and future co-owner!" The women squealed.

"Um. Hi," Rory said. "Co-owner of what?"

"Our own inn!" Sookie said. "You want some spaghetti Bolognese, hon?" she asked, gesturing to a pile of food on the kitchen table. "Garlic bread? Caesar salad?" Rory's stomach grumbled even as she looked longingly at her room, just steps away.

"Yes," she said reluctantly, sitting down and pulling the bowl of spaghetti towards her. "Inn?" she asked, her mouth stuffed with garlic bread.

"As long as Sook and I have been working together at the Independence, we've always wanted to open our own inn," Lorelai explained. "But it was really just this wonderful dream until we found a _beautiful _property just a little ways out of town!"

"The Rachel Property," Sookie reminded her with a smile.

"Right, the Rachel Property!" Lorelai said, failing to explain the reference to Rory. "Anyway, we just found out that Fran, the owner of Weston's, owns that as well, so we're going to talk to her about it tomorrow!"

"She's such a sweet old lady," said Sookie, shaking her head. "Remember how she used to sneak Jess cupcakes when he was a little boy, and Luke would get _so _mad and say that was way too much sugar for a toddler?" She chuckled at the memory as Lorelai nodded.

"She was so nice to me when I first got here," she said. "I could never afford to pay her, but she'd let me have as much coffee as I wanted." She plucked a piece of lettuce out of the salad bowl and munched on it. "Even lettuce tastes good if you soak it in a creamy dressing," she mused.

"Everything's better with cream," Sookie confirmed, taking another serving of salad herself and prompting Rory to remember the ice cream. Her stomach twisted a little when she thought about Francie, and she pushed herself away from the table.

"I'm done," she mumbled, and trudged into her room, leaving Lorelai and Sookie to gaze curiously after her.

**A/N: Since Jess is a student at Chilton in this 'verse, I thought it would be fun for him to date someone we're already familiar with from the school. And that thing about fish blood is true, at least according to an article I read in the NYT. Freaky. **

**Review? Please?**


	7. Father Figure

**A/N: This chapter's written a lot more from Lorelai's POV than Rory's. Just a heads-up.**

"Hey, grumpypants," Lorelai greeted Rory as she emerged from her bedroom on Saturday morning. "Coffee?" Rory snatched the proffered cup and gulped a few sips down. Then she made an angry noise that was remarkably loud for such a slight girl, something like the sound Lorelai imagined a hippo would make if you poked it really hard. "Any particular reason for the lovely mood you're in this morning?" Lorelai asked.

"No," Rory muttered, in a way that obviously meant "Yes." Lorelai just waited, drinking her coffee and pretending to read the newspaper. A few minutes later: "Why didn't you tell me Jess has a girlfriend?" Rory exploded, slumping onto the table and glaring at her aunt.

"What?"

"Why. Didn't. You. Tell. Me. Jess. Has. A. Girl. Friend," Rory enunciated slowly, as if Lorelai might be hard-of-hearing or just really dumb.

"You slay me," the older woman said dryly. "I heard you the first time. I just didn't know."

"Didn't know? You're in Luke's _every _day, you talk to Luke_ every_ day, you see Jess _every day_." Rory stared at her aunt pointedly.

"Luke didn't mention anything. Girl Scout's Honor," Lorelai said, putting her hand up. "And I've never seen him with any girls. It must be a new relationship. That or he's trying to hide it from this crazy town for as long as he can, in which case I wish him the best of luck." Lorelai paused, watching her niece. The perma-frown on her face had degraded into a full-blown scowl. "You really like him, huh?"

"No," Rory said too quickly. "Francie isn't his type, though."

"And how do you know that?" Lorelai asked without a trace of blame in her tone. Rory shrugged with one shoulder and cast her gaze downward. "You feel like you'd be better for him?" She shrugged again, after a beat or two of hesitation. "Want me to talk to Luke?"

"No!" Rory replied immediately. "No, no, no. God, we're not five, we don't need our families to set up a _playdate_," she sneered. "And I don't need _you _interfering with _my _life!" She pushed her chair back from the table with a screech and stalked into her room, slamming the door behind her. Lorelai almost had to laugh at the déjà vu she was experiencing, only now she found herself on the other side of things. Rory reminded her so much of herself at seventeen; it was disturbing. Lorelai was nearly certain that she had uttered those very same words – "I don't need _you _interfering with _my _life!" – to her parents, with the same red-hot scathing tone. Now that she found herself unexpectedly in the role of 'parent,' without much of a clue on how to handle most situations, she was realizing that Rory, although already mostly raised, needed some kind of a positive role model in her life. _There was no one for her after Eli passed away_, Lorelai mused. Then a certain baseball-cap wearing diner owner popped into her head. _There's an idea_, she thought, getting up and dashing upstairs to change.

An hour later, Lorelai unfolded her umbrella and stepped out into the gloomiest day Stars Hollow had seen in a while. She glanced down at the wildly weather-inappropriate heels on her feet and jumped into the Jeep. Squinting at the house, she frowned for a moment before she hit on what seemed out of place. Rory's bedroom window was open. _In this storm? _Lorelai thought, puzzled. Then she smacked herself on the forehead. _Of course_. Rory had snuck out. How long ago, Lorelai had no idea. _I really should be better at this, considering I used to sneak out of the house all the time_. There was nothing to do about it at the moment, however, and she was well-aware that the amount of trouble Rory could get into in Stars Hollow was minimal, so she started the Jeep and drove in the direction of Luke's.

"Mm, doesn't a rainy day like this just make you _crave _pie and coffee?" Lorelai asked the diner at large as she walked inside. Luke was nowhere in sight. The townies glanced at her and smiled, all save for one.

"Lorelai Gilmore, how can you take such a chipper tone on a day like this?" Taylor scolded, turning to her from his seat at the counter.

"Um. Because I like piña coladas and getting lost in the rain?"

"Not funny, young lady. I'm talking about the sighting of _your _niece having ice cream with our Jess." Lorelai frowned. If someone had seen Rory with Jess, wouldn't they have seen Francie as well? And Taylor wasn't concerned about that?

"Ice cream is pretty innocent, Taylor," Lorelai said as consolingly as she could, craning her neck to look for Luke. She couldn't take Taylor for more than two minutes without caffeine in her system. "And it isn't like it was just the two of them alone…right?" Lorelai gave Taylor a wide-open opportunity to address the Francie issue.

"Well, his cousin was with them, and she seems very well-behaved, but one never knows with teenagers. I don't trust any of them. Except Jess, of course," Taylor hastened to add as Luke made his appearance from behind the curtain.

"Shut up, Taylor," Luke said calmly, moving to stand across from Lorelai. "Coffee?"

"And pie!"

"Cherry, strawberry-rhubarb, or peach?"

"Cherry." Lorelai grinned as the empty counter space before her was satisfyingly filled with a tureen of black coffee and a plate with a generous slice of pie on it. "Mm." She giggled. Taylor thought Francie was Jess' cousin. She wasn't going to be the one to break the bad news to him. This town thought of Jess as their golden boy – he was smart to pretend he and Francie weren't involved as anything more than close family members, but once the town found out (and they would), Francie was in for more than she was bargaining for. They'd probably be more upset if he was seeing Rory, though, seeing as she was the "new girl" in town, and was so far pulling off a pretty convincing Rizzo impression. "Hey, Luke?"

"Wha – you finished your pie already?"

"Well, yes," Lorelai said, pushing the empty plate away from her, "but that's not what I wanted to say." Luke raised his eyebrows at her expectantly. "So – you know Rory, right?"

"Um, yeah," Luke said.

"Right. Well, she – Taylor, quit eavesdropping!" The self-proclaimed town selectman scowled, dropped his money on the counter, and left the diner. Lorelai shook her head. "Anyhow, this whole 'parenting' thing is pretty new to me."

"Oh, yeah…" Luke said, this concept seemingly dawning on him for the first time. "I'm sorry I haven't helped you more," he added, looking genuinely upset. "Here I am, s'posed to be your friend and all, and I've just left you to it. Rory seems like she might be a handful."

"She's a whole bucketful." Lorelai shook her head. "She reminds me so much of myself when I was seventeen. Rebellious, doesn't want to listen to what anybody has to say, doing anything as long as it's contrary."

"What can I do to help?" Luke asked, waving off Kirk as he tried to sneak behind the counter for some more decaf.

"Well – I don't quite know," Lorelai admitted. She hadn't thought this far. She knew Rory needed as much support as she could get, much as the younger girl would deny it, but she hadn't thought this far ahead in the plan.

"Huh. Jess seems to like her," Luke pointed out.

"Yeah?" Lorelai said cautiously, taking another long gulp of her coffee.

"He's talked my ear off about her. Maybe we should encourage them to spend more time together. Jess is a pretty good kid."

"Yeah, exactly," Lorelai said. "So aren't you worried that Rory – I mean, I love her, she's my niece, but she's not exactly an angel."

Luke shrugged. "Jess has a pretty decent handle on himself by this point. I don't think we have too much to worry about."

"Okay…" Lorelai was more doubtful. On the one hand, Jess could rub off on Rory, which would be great. On the other, Rory could rub off on Jess, which would be…Lorelai shuddered at the idea of polite, well-spoken Jess taking after Rory, who, once again, Lorelai really loved, but she wasn't going to be invited to guest star on _Sesame Street _anytime soon.

"And hey, I'll come over and help you out anytime you need it, okay?" Luke added, wiping down the counter.

"Thanks, Luke," Lorelai said with a genuine smile. That gruff, crunchy exterior really did hide a soft, nougaty center.

**A/N: I promise you'll learn more about Eli as time goes on. Hopefully he's intriguing enough to hold your interest!**


	8. Lightning

**A/N: This chapter details what Rory was up to while Lorelai was at the diner talking to Luke.**

_"And I don't need _you _interfering with _my _life!" _

Rory slammed her door behind her, making the windowpanes rattle. She flopped onto the bed and instantly stood back up, feeling too restless to lie down. She wanted to pace but the small size of the room made that next to impossible. Outside the door, she heard Lorelai get up and walk upstairs, and she took the opportunity to push the window open, yank her hood up, and step out onto the porch, where she dashed to the street with one glance back at the house to ensure Lorelai wasn't following. The coast clear, Rory started down the street, her sneakers already soaked through.

She had a pretty good idea of how juvenile she'd sounded when she'd yelled at her aunt, like some teenager on a cheesy TV dramedy. She kicked herself for ever exposing her crush to Lorelai. Of course she'd try to _do _something about it. Lorelai was Miss Can-Do all the time when it came to _other _people's lives…it didn't ever seem to occur to her to do something about her _own _life. Not that it was a shambles, Rory reminded herself. She (reluctantly) admitted that her aunt had a pretty decent life going here, dull as it was. Lorelai seemed content with what she had built for herself.

Her jacket and shoes soaked through, Rory paused underneath a red-and-white striped awning. She peered around to see if Taylor was hiding behind any street lamps or mailboxes, then lit a cigarette, gratefully inhaling the nicotine.

"Can I have a drag of that?"

"Gah!" Rory jumped half a foot in the air, nearly dislodging her cigarette from her fingers. "Don't _do _that!" she chided, glaring at Jess. Then: "Saint Jess smokes?"

"I haven't been anointed with holy water recently, so I doubt I've achieved sainthood," he deadpanned. "Don't you also have to die first?" Rory shrugged and half-smiled, offering up her cigarette.

"If you want your own, I have more," she said, to which he eagerly nodded. She gazed at him curiously, her brow furrowed. "I really didn't think anybody in this town smoked. Taylor said – "

Jess exhaled a plume of thin grey haze. "Ordinance number 1992-1026, bylaw 204?" Rory laughed and nodded. "Yeah, you can't even buy 'em here. Have to go all the way over to Woodbridge. I haven't had one in months…my dad would kill me if he saw me right now…" He took a deep drag and Rory found herself mesmerized by the look of pure enjoyment on his face. He caught her staring and she looked away fast, tugging on her hood to cover the faint flush on her cheeks.

"What does Francie think about your habit?" Rory teased to cover up her embarrassment.

Jess' face twitched. "She hates it. Hates the taste, you know."

"Right." Rory grimaced slightly at the idea of Jess and Francie kissing. They stood in silence for a moment. "Well, obviously I don't mind the taste, you know, because I smoke too, probably way more often than I should, or more often than you do," Rory rambled, her words cut off by Jess' sudden proximity to her lips. "What are you – " she managed to get out, and then he was kissing her, and grasping at her waist, and she felt electric, and then it was over.

"I have to go," Jess announced, shoving his hands in the pockets of his denim jacket and jogging through the rain in the direction of the diner.

"O-okay," Rory stammered, although he was far out of earshot by the time she got the word out. She stood stock still for a moment, her eyes wide and unblinking. Then she shook herself. It wasn't like she'd never been kissed before. Her gaze fell on the diner, looking warm and dry in the distance, but she walked back in the direction of Lorelai's house instead.

She was stepping out of the shower, wrapped in one towel and squeezing the water out of her hair with another, when Lorelai knocked on the door. "Hey, I noticed your bedroom window was open, so I closed it," she said casually.

"Uh, thanks," Rory mumbled, loud enough that she could be heard through the door. She looked in the mirror and wiped away the black streaks that covered her cheeks.

"Didn't want the floor to get wet," Lorelai continued, and Rory rolled her eyes at her own reflection.

"Right," she said.

"And I assume you're going to clean up the mud you tracked in from sneaking out in the Perfect Storm."

Rory sighed. Several seconds passed. She could tell Lorelai was still standing there. "Yes," she said eventually.

"Good, thanks," and Rory heard her walk away. Ten minutes later, she stepped into the kitchen, her damp hair swept into a high bun, clad in grey sweatpants and a light blue hoodie – her 'rainy weather attire,' Eli used to call it.

"Coffee," said Lorelai, nudging a mug she'd just set on the table. "Get it while it's hot." Rory nodded her thanks and picked up the mug, cradling it in her still-cold hands. This kind of rain soaked your clothes, your skin, and your bones. Like an unwelcome houseguest, it was not quick to leave. "So, uh," Lorelai began after a few moments of silence. "I know you think you're smarter than me and everything, and that you can get away with all the same crap you got away with in New York, but you're forgetting one minor detail. I was seventeen once, too. I know, I know, I don't look a day over sixteen, but stick with me here." She traced the lip of her own mug and looked at her niece.

"What you need to get is that I _was_ you once," she continued. "I pulled all the same stunts. I thought my parents were clueless – and, granted, for the most part, they actually were. I highly doubt Emily Gilmore snuck out her bedroom window when she was your age. It would have ruined her Prada skirt." A corner of Rory's mouth lifted just a bit at that, and Lorelai felt encouraged. "You'll meet her. And him. They've been hounding me for the past few weeks to meet you…well, re-meet you. They met you right after you were born. You've changed somewhat since then, though, so they're insisting on meeting you again, now that you're slightly larger than a loaf of bread." At this, Rory let out a tiny snort, though she kept her gaze fixed on her coffee cup.

"Anyway. What I'm trying to say is, don't pull any bullshit and we won't have any problems." Rory flinched. She didn't think any Stars Hollow residents had ever heard a curse word, let alone used them. "You live in a teeny, tiny hamlet now. Put Stars Hollow in an envelope and you could mail it for a buck forty. You could have a support system surrounding you, if you let it. It's not so bad." Lorelai smiled slightly and Rory could guess who she was thinking about.

"Okay," she said simply, acknowledging Lorelai's words but not committing to anything. They both sipped their coffee.

"Seen Jess lately?" Lorelai asked, taking the chance that she wouldn't get such an extreme reaction this time, but Rory nearly choked on her sip. Her aunt jumped up and started slapping Rory on the back, muttering "I have no idea how to do this; I never took a freaking CPR class."

"Wa-ter," Rory spluttered.

"Oh, duh," Lorelai said, shaking her head and rushing over to the sink. Rory gulped down half the glass and gasped. "If I'd known what a reaction mentioning Jess could get out of you, I would've filmed that," her aunt smirked, inspiring a death glare from Rory.

"Not funny," she muttered, her voice hoarse.

"Can we try the question again? Is it safe?"

"No," Rory lied. "No, I haven't seen him." Her cheeks reddened as she remembered the kiss. It had caught her so off-guard.

"Mm-hm," Lorelai said knowingly, sauntering into the living room to watch whatever asinine TV show was on at 5 PM on a Saturday.


	9. Meet the Grandparents

"So, here's the plan."

"Wha…" Rory flopped over in bed, staring blearily up at Lorelai, who was standing over her, looking way too happy for…she glanced at the clock…seven A.M.

"First, we're going to have brunch at my parents'. It'll be a nightmare straight out of Elm Street, but there's no avoiding it any longer, and if I try to get us out of it, my mother _will _come over here and she _will _have white gloves and she _will _find dust. Entire bunnies." Lorelai's voice faded slightly as she left Rory's room and started up the coffeemaker.

"Hmm…" Rory mumbled, turning over and covering her head with a pillow. Lorelai promptly walked back in and pulled it off.

"Then, later tonight, you're going to do your homework. I know you haven't done it yet because you left your messenger bag on the couch when you got home on Friday and it's been there ever since, so unless you've been doing it with your incredible Swami Rama telekinetic powers, you will be finishing it. And Jess is gonna help you."

"What?!" Rory shot straight up in bed, all sleepiness forgotten for the moment. Lorelai was smiling smugly.

"I talked to Luke a little while ago and he suggested you guys get together and do your homework. Jess can help you catch up."

Rory glared at her aunt. "I asked you not to get involved!"

"Did you?" Lorelai cocked her head innocently. "I'm sorry. Listen, kid, I know you didn't want us to set up a _playdate_, but this isn't a playdate! It's a _homework _date. Very different."

"Yeah, right," Rory muttered, running a hand through her tangled hair.

"You can work right at Luke's. Very convenient access to coffee and pie and chili fries and whatever else your little heart desires. Eight o'clock. Don't be late. Well, I'll be walking over with you, so you won't be late. Well, maybe a little," she admitted, flouncing back out of Rory's room, and starting to pour coffee. Rory's head was spinning. "Can you get dressed pretty soon? I hung a dress over your door. Mom's pretty picky about wardrobe." Rory groaned and shot a dark look at the dress, which was knee-length, solid blue, with an extremely conservative collar. "Don't worry!" Lorelai called. "You can change before you see Jess." She smirked to herself as Rory violently pulled a cup out of the cabinet and sloshed coffee into it.

* * *

"Hello, Lorelai. Let the maid take your coat and purse. _Hello_, Rory! It's a pleasure to finally see you!" She put the emphasis on _finally_, shooting a significant look at Lorelai. Emily Gilmore stepped forward and enveloped Rory in a conservative hug that smelled distinctly of Chanel No. 5.

"Oh, um, yeah, you too," Rory replied, glancing around the foyer. This was not a house. It was a mansion. She stared up at the chandelier and thought about _The Phantom of the Opera_. She backed away slightly, out of range, and Emily gave her an odd look.

"How's your mother doing, Rory?" she asked stiffly.

_Honestly? I have no clue. _"She's fine," she lied.

"Good to hear."

"Where's Dad?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh, on some sort of business call, as usual. Your grandfather works in insurance," Emily added, looking at her granddaughter, who simply stared. The Gilmore matriarch led the way to the sitting room, where Rory arranged her dress and crossed her legs uncomfortably. Lorelai cleared her throat in an attempt to dissipate the awkwardness.

"So, Mom," she said, "what's for brunch? It smells delicious in here."

"It's quiche Lorraine. And fruit, and some sort of potato dish your father insisted on having. There are mimosas – " Lorelai cheered and Emily looked at her distastefully. " – and regular orange juice for the underage." She gave Rory a tight smile. Rory was starting to get why Lorelai was so reluctant to come here. "So, Rory," Emily said, "how are you liking school?"

"It's there," Rory shrugged, and her grandmother's lips tightened again.

"Do you have a favorite class?"

Rory shook her head.

"A favorite teacher?"

Another head shake.

"Well, what do you do when you're not in school?"

"Um, I read some, I guess."

"Some?" Lorelai scoffed. "Mom, she brought an entire library with her."

"Really?" For the first time, Emily perked up slightly. "I would think English would be your favorite class, then."

At this, Rory shrugged again, a gesture her grandmother clearly hated, but she also added some words. "Well, I've already read all the books on the lesson plan, so it's a little boring. A lot boring, actually."

Emily raised her perfectly-plucked eyebrows. "All of them?" Rory nodded. "Well, can you get her moved into an advanced class, Lorelai?"

"I hadn't thought of that," Lorelai replied honestly, turning to look at her niece. "Should I call the principal or your teacher or something?"

Rory made a face. "No, I don't think – "

"You should call, Lorelai," Emily said firmly, cutting her off. "Surely even a…" Emily paused, choosing her words carefully. "…basic school such as Stars Hollow has advanced classes."

"Um, okay, Mom," Lorelai said, glancing at Rory apologetically. Her grandfather chose that moment to appear – at least, Rory assumed it was her grandfather. An extraordinarily tall man wearing a bow tie and holding a newspaper appeared, anyhow, and he looked like a grandfather.

"Richard!" Emily says delightedly, and Rory's suspicions were confirmed. "Come and meet your granddaughter."

"Hm?" Richard grunted, hardly looking up from his paper. "Oh, hello, Lorelai. How is the hotel?"

"Technically, it's an inn," Lorelai replied tightly. "And look, Margaret's daughter is here. Rory." Richard glanced up again and seemed startled that there was a fourth presence in the room.

"Oh!" he said. "Rory. Well. What a nice surprise."

"I told you Lorelai was bringing her, Richard," Emily said exasperatedly.

"Brunch is served," said a timid voice, and all four Gilmores turned to the tiny maid at once.

"Thank you, Marcella. Shall we?" offered Emily.

The brunch passed slowly, seeming to take endless hours. Rory picked at her quiche and did not touch the fruit, much to Emily's displeasure (however, Lorelai was eating her meal in much the same manner, so the elder Gilmore could not place all of the blame on Rory). They both gobbled up the 'potato dish,' which had turned out to be hash browns, with little hesitation. Rory passed the time by concentrating on creating a face out of the leftover food on her plate. Lorelai got yelled at for asking for ketchup – "What are we, heathens?" Emily asked crossly. Richard was silent until Emily reintroduced the idea of Rory taking an advanced class.

"You like to read?" he asked over the top of his glasses, eyeing Rory.

"Yes," Rory admitted.

"And what are you currently reading?" Richard continued, lowering his newspaper to place his full attention on his granddaughter.

"Well…I just started _Dead Souls_, but I'm also working my way through _War and Peace_."

Richard's eyebrows shot up. "You like the Russians, then."

"Yeah."

"First time reading _War and Peace_?"

"Third, actually."

At this, even Lorelai put down her fork. "You're seventeen and you've read that mammoth three times?" she asked disbelievingly.

Rory blushed, uncomfortable with all of the attention focused on her. "In the middle of the third time," she corrected.

"I couldn't make it through once. I don't think I got past page 100," Lorelai said.

"I myself have only read it twice," Richard added, looking awed, and suddenly much more amenable to Rory's presence. "Would you like to see a second-edition I have in my office?"

"Sure," Rory shrugged, trying not to seem too excited at the prospect. Richard stood and gestured for her to follow him. "Oh, now? Um, okay." Rory pushed back her chair and glanced at Lorelai, who looked bemused.

"So, Rory, what do you make of the scene after Prince Andrei is thrown from his horse and is lying in the battlefield..?" Richard's voice faded as they walked deeper into the house, and Lorelai and Emily were left to their icy silence.

**A/N: Next chapter: Jess and Rory "study." ;)**


	10. Real Talk

**A/N: What...what's this? A new chapter? Really? Whoa!**

**Disclaimer: I obviously don't own the characters, even with their AU personalities. **

Rory left her grandparents' house/mansion feeling rather torn. She was surprised by how much she and her grandpa had in common, at least when it came to literature. Emily still intimidated her, though. She could practically feel the disapproval dripping off her. Lorelai glanced at her niece as they walked to the Jeep.

"It's just because she and your mom had a falling out when she left," she said, reading Rory's thoughts. The younger girl simply shrugged in response, pretending not to care. They got in the car and Lorelai turned to grin at her niece as she started the engine. "Are you excited to see _Jess _later?" She said _Jess _like it was a dirty word she thoroughly relished pronouncing.

Rory snorted. "Whatever."

"Oh, I see we're back to Teen Speak. That's cool. Or should I say…that's dope?"

Rory had to let out a genuine peal of laughter at that. "_Nobody _actually says that. At least not anymore."

"Are you just telling me that so I won't sound cool in front of all your…_hip _friends?"

Rory just shook her head, covering her eyes in embarrassment.

* * *

Rory could not deny that she felt the slightest hint of butterflies in her stomach. She hadn't seen Jess since their…encounter under the awning the day before. She held a t-shirt to her chest, turning this way and that in the mirror to see how it might look. Discarding it, she returned to the closet, staring into it as if it held all the answers to life's questions.

"Want help?" Lorelai asked, appearing behind her.

Rory sighed. "I…don't know." She turned to look at her aunt appraisingly. Lorelai simply stood there as Rory analyzed her outfit and thought about what she'd worn over the past few weeks. "I guess."

"Yes!" Lorelai cheered. "I am so good at this. You'll see." Within a few minutes, Lorelai had sorted through every piece of clothing Rory owned. "None of this will work," she informed her niece, whose jaw dropped.

"What?!" she shrieked.

"Don't worry! We can go to the magical shopping closet upstairs! Come with…_meeee_!" she sang, dancing out the door.

"Too much caffeine," Rory muttered under her breath, trudging after Lorelai. She stood in the doorway and watched as her aunt sorted through her own wardrobe, hemming and hawing over various tops and skirts.

"Okay," she said after ten minutes. She held up a dark red blouse. "This says you're cute and down-to-earth." She picked up a pair of skinny jeans. "These say, 'I like to be comfortable, but not the pre-makeover _What Not to Wear_ version of comfortable." Finally, she grabbed a light scarf and wound it around Rory's neck. "And _this_…well, this is just plain cute. Oh, and wear your jacket."

Rory stared at her. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" Lorelai shoved the outfit in her niece's arm and gestured for her to head downstairs.

"You just put together the perfect outfit in less than ten minutes. I had been staring at my clothes for twenty," Rory said over her shoulder as they walked down the steps and back into Rory's room.

Lorelai shrugged. "What can I say? It's a gift. Now, I do have one caveat…" She looked at Rory sternly. "_Please _do not smoke while you're wearing my clothes. Please. I feel that I've been very…er, forgiving in that area. I have not hidden your cigarettes, or bought you tapes, or patches, or crazy Chinese herbs, all of which Luke suggested to me, by the way. All I ask is that you leave my clothes smelling like…well, clothes, and not an ashtray." Rory reluctantly agreed, trying not to think of what (or, more accurately, _who_) cigarettes would forever remind her of.

An hour later, Rory hesitated outside the door to Luke's until Lorelai gave her a gentle shove between the shoulder blades, forcing her to push it open. The bell jingled and Rory's eyes made quick work of the diner's patrons. Babette and Morey, Miss Patty, Kirk, Andrew from the bookstore, Gypsy from the auto shop, a couple kids from school, Luke…no Jess. She felt mildly concerned that she might have a panic attack from the way her nerves were jumping around, and apparently it was rather noticeable. "Hey," Lorelai said. "Try to relax. Your eyes look like they're gonna jump out of your head." Rory threw her a dirty look with her jumping eyeballs, but tried to take a few deep breaths. How bad could it be, _really_?

"So I'll see you later, right?" someone giggled, and Rory's gaze turned to the curtain covering the way to the stairs.

"Sure, I just have to do this thing with Rory first," a voice that was distinctly and undeniably Jess' replied. Then he and Francie emerged from behind the curtain, like an unwelcome consolation prize. Rory's heart sank and Lorelai made a half-angry, half-sad sound behind her.

"You guys eating?" Luke inquired from behind the counter, seemingly oblivious to the crisis happening right in the middle of his diner.

"Um, yeah, two cheeseburgers and fries, please," Lorelai replied distractedly. Luke followed her and Rory's gaze to Jess and Francie in the corner, where the couple were staring sickeningly into each other's eyes. His eyebrow quirked up in a silent question, but he said nothing aloud.

"Coming right up," he muttered as Rory and Lorelai took seats at the farthest table from the corner.

"You okay?" Lorelai said in a low voice, well-covered by the chatter of the other customers. Rory just nodded, her eyes icy. She knew she shouldn't be mad. It was silly of her to expect that Francie would immediately be exiled, just because she and Jess had kissed one time. But she couldn't deny she'd kind of been expecting it. _I mean, look at her_, she thought snidely, peering at Francie out of her peripheral vision. _She's so…blah. What a snob._

"Hey," Jess said, startling her.

"Oh, hey," she replied, her voice dull and flat. She glanced up at him quickly, then back down at the table.

"Jess, who's the girl?" Babette asked loudly. Francie, who was halfway to the door, stopped in her tracks and listened.

"Um…that's Francie," Jess replied lamely, well aware that his answer wouldn't come close to satisfying Babette's – and the town's – sudden curiosity.

"She's your cousin, right?" Kirk asked from the counter. "That's what Taylor told me. He tells me everything." He took a large bite of his grilled cheese. Jess looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Rory watched his eyes dart to Luke, who just shrugged, making Jess' eyes narrow. His dad wasn't going to help him out of this one.

"She's…my girlfriend," he muttered reluctantly, chancing a quick look at Rory. She was staring out the window as if nothing at all of interest was going on, but a closer look revealed that her hands were clasped tightly in her lap. The diner gasped at large. Only Luke, Lorelai, and Rory seemed unfazed by the revelation.

"You're dating your cousin?" Kirk asked, holding up an inquisitive pickle. Nobody paid him any mind.

"She goes to your school, huh?" Babette said eventually. Jess nodded. The entire conversation was taking place as if Francie herself were not there, although she watched and listened silently from the door. Rory stared at her and the redhead lifted her nose in the air and ignored it.

"Can we go, Jess?" she asked stiffly.

"I – I have to study with Rory, remember?" Jess asked, resting a hand on the table. He tapped on it.

"Fine, whatever," Francie snapped after a moment of looking back and forth from Rory to Jess. She left. There was a brief moment of silence, during which only the sound of Kirk chewing could be heard.

"Well. She's…nice, sugar," Babette tried first.

"Is that her natural hair color?" Patty asked next.

"I don't know," said Jess, scrunching up his shoulders uncomfortably. He sat down in the chair opposite Rory, jerking a nod to Lorelai. "Got your books?" he asked Rory, letting out a puff of breath.

"Um…yeah, they're right here."

Jess looked at her expectantly. In turn, Rory looked at Lorelai. "Oh," she said. "Uh, I guess I'll take the burger to go." She glanced up at Luke, who grabbed a takeout bag from behind the counter and brought it to the table. "Thanks." She looked at Rory. "See you later?"

"Yeah."

Lorelai nodded and left after exchanging a quick, questioning glance with Luke, who shrugged slightly. He moved back behind the counter and became absorbed in a conversation about cheese-to-bread ratio with Kirk. Rory set her history book on the table carefully and waited, but Jess was staring out the window, seemingly at nothing. "You okay?" she asked after a few minutes of tortured silence. He jumped, as if he'd forgotten she was there.

"What are you learning about in your French class?" he asked, grasping her history textbook and flipping it open.

"Uh…I'm taking Spanish…" Rory gave him a quizzical look. Her embarrassment was overshadowed by concern. She noticed Luke and Kirk staring at them, and lightly touched Jess' denim-clad arm. "Wanna walk around outside for a few minutes?"

"Sure." Jess stood abruptly and walked out the door without waiting for her. Rory followed him all the way to the bridge where she'd sat on her second day in Stars Hollow. It was chillier here now, and she wrapped her jacket closer around her small frame before sitting down next to Jess. She waited patiently, now aware that something strange was going on inside his mind. Plucking absentmindedly at her jeans, she waited for him to work it all out.

"I don't like Francie that much," he finally said, his fingers twiddling a cigarette.

"So why are you dating her?" Rory asked, furrowing her brow. Regardless of whatever feelings she may or may not have had for Jess, that just didn't make sense. Why date someone you didn't like very much? Jess shrugged.

"Dunno. She wanted to."

Rory couldn't help snorting, and he lifted his head to look at her. "Sorry," she said. "I can think of a lot of bad reasons for dating someone…and that has to be one of the worst." She shifted a little so she could look at him without craning her neck. "If only one of the people in a relationship is putting in any effort, then what's the point?" She threw her hands in the air for emphasis. "There isn't one, exactly!" she continued, though Jess hadn't answered her question.

"Francie was one of the first people I met when I started at Chilton," he explained, staring down at the water below them. "I could see that she was the queen bee already, and she was used to getting everything she wanted. I figured it would make my life easier if I didn't butt heads with her." Rory nodded, encouraging him to go on. He lit his cigarette. "I…I can't even remember how we started going out. It just kind of happened, and one day I woke up, and I was her boyfriend. It was like it was happening _to _me, you know?" He inhaled deeply. "Like I wasn't even a participant in the relationship."

"Does it still feel that way?"

Jess jerked his head up and stared at her. "Yeah, it does." Rory nodded, but didn't say anything further.

"She decides everything we do. I wanted to go to this Distillers concert in Hartford last week, but she just…kind of ignored me and told me we were going to a party instead." He flicked his cigarette ash into the water. "It sounds so stupid and weak, but she has so many…I dunno, _minions_ at school. If we broke up…" He trailed off, leaving Rory's imagination to work at what Francie could possibly do to Jess.

"Would it really be so bad? I mean…worse than actually being with her?" Rory asked, trying to remain neutral. Much as she wanted to push him into breaking up with Francie, her conscience (which sounded remarkably like Lorelai) urged her to allow Jess to make up his own mind. He just lifted a shoulder, a habit that grated on Rory's nerves a little, despite her own propensity for making an identical gesture. She tried to ignore her heart slamming against the cage of her ribs and took a deep breath. "So what was yesterday all about?"

"What do you mean?"

Rory narrowed her eyes at him and waited. He sighed in resignment. "If you wanna just forget it ever happened…"

"I don't," she replied instantly, surprising him. She gazed at him. "Do…do you?"

"No."

Rory bit her lip. "Okay…" She turned so her legs were dangling off the side of the bridge again and stared at the water.

"Can I just see something?" Jess asked, and she flinched when she realized he was much closer than he'd been a moment ago.

"Um, okay," she replied quietly, and he leaned forward and cupped her jaw in his left hand. "Jess…we shouldn't…" But then his mouth met hers and she marveled at how soft his lips were and how his breath didn't stink like an ashtray, despite his covert nicotine habit. Rory couldn't help but wrap her arms around him and pull him closer. _We're just seeing something_, she told herself as his tongue slid into her mouth. _It's like a science experiment_. Long moments drifted by lazily. She felt the urge to feel for her pulse to make sure her heart was still beating. He played with her hair and trailed his fingers along the nape of her neck, making her shiver and gasp a little into his mouth. He pressed his lips against hers harder, then pulled back, resting his forehead against hers. _Just an experiment, right?_


End file.
